Preparations for crowd control ramped up at Sabarimala

Pilgrims waiting for darshan at the Sannidhanam in the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.
| Photo Credit: LEJU KAMAL

With less than a week remaining for the first leg of the annual pilgrimage season at the Sabarimala temple to conclude, authorities have ramped up preparations to manage the expected surge in devotees starting Sunday.

A high-level meeting, chaired by Sabarimala Additional District Magistrate Arun S. Nair, on Thursday focussed on strategies to handle the anticipated rise in footfalls due to the Mandala Puja, Thanka Anki procession, and school holidays. The officials were reminded that the influx of devotees would put the effectiveness of the crowd management measures implemented so far to the test.

To accommodate the rush, all exit routes from the hillock will remain open. The meeting also decided to redeploy the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stretcher team from Pampa to the Sannidhanam. The Fire and Rescue Services department has been instructed to ensure that eatery units within the pilgrimage zone do not stockpile LPG cylinders, reducing fire hazards during the busy period.

Attendees at the meeting included Police Special Officer at the Sannidhanam B. Krishnakumar, GSO Umesh Goyal, Rapid Action Force Deputy Commandant G. Vijayan, and Sabarimala Executive Officer B. Murari Babu.

In first 30 days

According to official estimates, 23.44 lakh pilgrims visited the hill shrine during the first 30 days of the season, compared to 19.03 lakh in the same period last year.

The Pathanamthitta District Police has reported challenges in crowd control caused by devotees arriving for darshan without adhering to their allotted virtual queue booking times. To ease congestion, especially on December 25 and 26 during the Thanka Anki procession, devotees have been urged to strictly follow their booking schedules.

“Although spot bookings are capped at 10,000 per day, we occasionally see higher numbers. Fortunately, with the 70,000 daily virtual queue slots often underutilised, the situation has been manageable so far. However, as the number of pilgrims continues to grow, overcrowding could pose significant challenges in the coming days,’‘ said an official.